ISSUE 55, 7 NOVEMBER 2014
ENGLISH EDITION
Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Since 1904
Asian club football
WANDERERS REACH MILESTONE MEXICO AMPUTEES PLAY ON
RAINER BONHOF WORLD CHAMPION FOR EVER
SALVADOR CABANAS LIFE AFTER THE ASSASSIN’S BULLET W W W.FIFA.COM/ THEWEEKLY
THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL
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North and Central America 35 members www.concacaf.com
Young blood Western Sydney Wanderers were only founded two years ago, yet last weekend the club won the AFC Champions League, while Saudi Arabian opponents Al Hilal were unable to find a decisive goal in front of their formidable home crowd. David Winner and Alan Schweingruber’s report sheds more light on the winners and losers of this hotly contested final.
South America 10 members www.conmebol.com
Rainer Bonhof In our interview, the 1974 world champion discusses Mario Gotze, zonal marking and Borussia Monchengladbach’s success.
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S epp Blatter “Real life closely resembles events on the field of play,” says the FIFA President. “You only target the man in possession. And as FIFA President I am by definition the man on the ball.”
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Turning Point In 2010, an assassination attempt almost cost Paraguayan international Salvador Cabanas his life.
24 The Wanderers’ faithful Our cover picture was taken on 25 October 2014 at the Parramatta Stadium in Sydney, where Western Sydney Wanderers defeated Al Hilal 1-0 in the first leg of the AFC Champions League final.
Mexico Amputee footballers are building confidence playing for Guerreros Aztecas.
Brendon Thorne / Getty Images
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The number of teams taking part in the final competition has been fixed at 24, to be apportioned among the confederations as follows: AFC: 5 Teams, CAF: 3 Teams, CONCACAF: 3,5 Teams*, CONMEBOL: 2,5 Teams*, OFC: 1 Team, UEFA: 8 Teams, Host: Canada *The fourth-ranked team from the CONCACAF preliminary competition will compete in a play-off (home and away) against the third-ranked team from the CONMEBOL preliminary competition for a slot in the final competition.
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Qualified Costa Rica Mexico USA
Qualified Brazil Colombia
Play-off (Second Leg) 2 December 2014 Trinidad and Tobago – Ecuador
Play-off (First Leg) 8 November 2014 Ecuador – Trinidad and Tobago
Canada (Host)
Bénédicte Desrus, imago, Getty Images
Venezuela Champions Zamora are now struggling to win a game.
THIS WEEK IN THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL
Europe 54 members www.uefa.com
Africa 54 members www.cafonline.com
Asia 46 members www.the-afc.com
Oceania 11 members www.oceaniafootball.com
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Croatia Dinamo Zagreb’s championship charge is seemingly unstoppable.
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History A history of World Cup emblems, including Chile 1962, Italy 1990 and Brazil 2014. The FIFA Weekly Magazine App The FIFA Weekly Magazine is available in four languages as an e-Magazine and on your tablet every Friday. http://www.fifa.com/mobile
Qualified Germany England France Norway Sweden Switzerland Spain + Playoff Winner
Qualified Côte d’Ivoire Cameroon Nigeria
Qualified Australia China PR Japan Korea Republic Thailand
Qualified New Zealand
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instinct takes over
#predatorinstinct
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Mission accomplished Western Sydney Wanderers fans take to their city’s streets to celebrate their AFC Champions League triumph.
Wonders and Wanderers
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couple of days ago, Western Sydney Wanderers proved something remarkable – namely, that it is possible for a club to win the AFC Champions League just two years after being founded. From page six onwards, David Winner and Alan Schweingruber take a closer look at both Australia’s newest top club and the passionate fans and clear strategy that have brought them success both on and off the pitch, as well as their opponents in the final of Asia’s most prestigious club competition, Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal.
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fter having an arm or leg removed, many amputees find they not only have to deal with a physical handicap but must also struggle for social acceptance. Football is now helping those affected to overcome these challenges. Tim Smyth (text) and Benedicte Desrus (photos) visited Guerreros Azteca’s self-assured amputee players in Mexico City to learn more, and their report can be found on page 24.
“I Saeed Khan / AFP
n my 40 years with FIFA I have learned to live with hostility and resentment,” writes FIFA President Sepp Blatter in his weekly column on page 23. “However, as the German-language proverb puts it, sympathy is free, but envy must be earned.” Å Perikles Monioudis
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Halfway there Wanderers players celebrate victory in the first leg of the final.
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Ryan Pierse / Getty Images
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YOUNG BLOOD
Western Sydney Wanderers won the AFC Champions League just two years after the team was founded, but the club’s fan culture is just as phenomenal. David Winner and Alan Schweingruber
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“It happened!” Sydney players sink to their knees after the second-leg 0-0 draw.
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“It happened!” Wanderers’ achievement uncannily recalled one of the most remarkable moments of modern sport. Twenty 8
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years ago heavyweight boxer George Foreman regained his world title at the ripe old age of 45. At the end of that fight in Las Vegas, he too fell to his knees in prayer while the TV commentator yelled “It happened! It happened!” Weirdly, the iconic moment of both unlikely triumphs featured a strong right hand. Foreman used his to knock out Michael Moorer. On Saturday, Ante Covic knocked the stuffing out of Al Hilal with an impossible-seeming, late, one-handed save from star striker Yasser Al Qahtani. But the backstories were different. One victory looked to the past, the other points to the future. In 1994 Foreman was a born-again Christian preacher searching for – and finding – redemption from his legendary ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ defeat by Muhammad Ali in 1974. The Wanderers, created in 2012 as a franchise by Football Federation Australia to fill a gap in the fledgling A-League, like to portray themselves as custodians of an ancient football lineage. In the 80th minute of every match, for instance, fans commemorate the first football game played in Sydney, in 1880. In fact the club is doing something thrillingly new. Wanderers are the first Australian team to win the Asian Champions’ League, have boosted their country’s sporting reputation and done wonders for the cause of football at home. Red and Black Bloc They overcame much richer, long-established teams including Sanfrecce Hiroshima, last season’s AFC runners-up Seoul FC, and defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande coached by Marcello Lippi, architect of Italy’s World Cup v ictory in 2006.
AP
Just 14 Wanderers fans were at the game, but back home in Parramatta 5,000 stayed up all night to watch.
t the final whistle in Riyadh some of the Australian heroes sank to their knees in grateful prayer while a TV commentator shouted “the miracle has happened!” Western Sydney Wanderers, a club created just two years ago, defended like Spartans at Thermopylae, drew 0-0 with hot favourites Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia and found themselves crowned champions of Asia. The second leg of the AFC Champions League final was hotly contested at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. For 90 minutes Wanderers withstood enormous pressure from the home side in front of 65,000 passionate Al Hilal fans constantly seeking to irritate goalkeeper Ante Covic. Al Hilal have been Asian champions twice and are backed by the wealth of the Saudi royal family. Home fans believed their coach Laurentiu Reghecampf when he dismissed Wanderers as a ‘small’ team’ and promised to overturn the 0-1 deficit from the first leg. But the hard-working Australians earned their luck as Al Hilal wasted a string of chances and Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura waved away three certain-seeming Saudi penalties. Just 14 Wanderers fans were at the game but back home in Parramatta 5,000 stayed up all night to watch on giant screen in Centenary Square – and erupted in a wild party at the final whistle. Next up is the Club World Cup in Morocco - and the chance for the Aussie underdogs to pit themselves against Real Madrid.
Salah Malkawi / Getty Images
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In a class of his own Sydney goalkeeper Ante Covic. T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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“Nobody saw Western Sydney Wanderers coming” Holger Osieck, in 2007 you won the AFC Champions League with Urawa Red Diamonds. What sort of status does the tournament have? Holger Osieck: Its standing has grown
over the years and it’s becoming increas ingly attractive. In 2007 Urawa played the second leg of the final in Saitama against Iranian side Sepahan in front of almost 60,000 spectators. It was a huge event and the fans were very proud that a Japanese club won such a major title for the first time, and that they qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup in the process.
What are the challenges of playing in the AFC Champions League? Travelling through Asia isn’t easy. There aren’t always direct flight connec tions, while moving between time zones and to different climates also has a big
impact. Winning the competition is far from easy.
You worked as Australia national team coach. What do you make of Western Sydney Wanderers winning the AFC Champions League, despite the club only being founded in 2012? I witnessed the club starting out first hand and what’s happened there is a fairytale. The team was set up virtually overnight. They quickly found their feet and managed to build momentum by winning game after game. It was a surprise and nobody saw it coming. In my opinion the majority of their success is down to their coach Tony Popovic, who I respect a great deal. He had everything under con trol right from the start. He’s got a good eye for spotting players and made the right signings, for example Shinji Ono, who was
a massive influence in shaping the team. Furthermore, a lot of players’ performances improved dramatically under Popovic. I’m delighted for him that he’s had such success.
The Wanderers are famed for having very vocal fans. Where has such huge support come from? The region to the west of Sydney is kind of a melting pot where lots of people with different – often European – back grounds come together. In most other areas of Australia sports such as Austra lian Rules Football and rugby are more popular, but there football is number one. Western Sydney Wanderers have a big fan base, their supporters are enthusiastic and emotional and stand firmly behind their team. There’s a great atmosphere in the stadium – I went to a lot of their home games and I always liked it there.
How far can the Wanderers go at the Club World Cup in Morocco? They’re incredibly disciplined, well organised and have a good structure. I hope that their fighting spirit will help them do well there. Holger Osieck was speaking to Tim Pfeifer.
Name Holger Osieck Date and place of birth 31 August 1948, Homberg Clubs coached Canada (assistant coach), Germany (assistant coach), Olympique Marseille (assistant coach), Bochum, Fenerbahce, Urawa Red Diamonds, Kocaelispor, Canada, Australia World Cup winner 1990 Turkish cup winner 1997 CONCACAF Gold Cup winner 2000 AFC Champions League winner 2007 Silverware collector Holger Osieck holds the AFC Champions League trophy aloft after his triumph with Urawa Red Diamonds in 2007.
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UPI Photo / imago
Major honours
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Halfway to Morocco Western Sydney Wanderers celebrate their crucial goal.
Steve Cristo / Corbis
Perhaps more importantly, Wanderers have given a sense of identity to the sprawling suburbs traditionally looked down upon by the richer, more fashionable areas of Sydney. Their 41-year-old coach Tony Popovic, once of Crystal Palace in England, now likely to be in demand across the world, has assembled a squad of huge-hearted players including youngsters like Tomi Juric, who scored the first leg winner, and veterans like captain Nikolai Topor-Stanley. But the club’s fans have had no less a dramatic impact, emerging as a show in their own right with passionate support from every section of one of Australia’s most ethnically diverse communities. Western Sydney is one of Australia’s few traditional soccer hotspots, largely because the area has been home to immigrants from South America and southern Europe. In early 2012, local people were asked for their opinions on colours, name and even playing style for the new team. The process helped spawn the Red and Black Bloc [RBB] an unusual supporters’ group which mixes men and women, young and old and every ethnicity. An integral part of the club’s DNA from the start, the RBB went on to electrify the A-League with their noisy, passionate, joyful displays and nonstop singing. A refreshing concept Drawing from influences from fan cultures around the world, they’ve forged a vibrant, distinctively Australian culture of their own with trademark Poznans, elaborately choreographed tifos and pre-match marches to the stadium led by a band. One song-cum-chant has fans on one side of the stadium asking ‘Who do we sing for?’ to which their mates on another thunder the answer: ‘We sing for
Wanderers!’ The deafening dialogue lasts for several minutes at a time. After victories, the players sometimes join in too. Australia is a sports-mad country but fans of other codes never developed anything quite like this. Just before the first leg of the AFC Final, journalist Michael Visontay, supporter of local rivals Sydney FC, argued that the Wanderers and their fans had done what decades of interventions by politicians had failed to do – building a “conscience of their place”. The Wanderers style on the pitch may be a “modest, solid brand of football built on defensive discipline, grinding the opposition down”, he argued. But, crucially, many of their players are local so “they stand for triumph against the odds and a sense of players truly representing their own heartland.” Mike Ticher, co-founder of the English football magazine When Saturday Comes who now lives in Australia, says the Wanderers phenomenon may have an impact further afield where commercialisation and mega-salaries have eroded traditional bonds between clubs, players and fans. “There’s a real connection between the supporters and the players and the people who run the club and the wider community. In big European football that’s gone by the wayside to a large extent, so this is heartening and impressive, even for people like me who aren’t supporters of the team. The concept is fantastic. It’s really refreshing.”
CAF Champions League Algerian side ES Setif won the CAF Champions League for the second time in their history, completing the line-up for the 2014 Club World Cup in Morocco in the process. Africa’s most prestigious club competition was known as the African Cup of Champions Clubs from 1964 until 1996. Egyptian top-flight side Al-Ahly SC are the competition’s most successful club on eight wins, followed by Cairo neighbours and rivals Al Zamalek SC (5) and T.P. Mazembe (4) from Congo DR. Egypt has provided easily the most Champions League winners since the competition was introduced with 14, followed by Morocco, Congo DR, Algeria and Cameroon all on five apiece. North African clubs have dominated the CAF Champions League down the years with 26
Al Hilal’s royal approval Even Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is a great believer in fan culture. Although he is a member of Al Hilal’s board, the Saudi Arabian prince is renowned for gladly taking on major challenges and seeing them through, parting with plenty of funds along the way.
wins in the 34 editions of the tournament. (dek)
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Man of the moment Victorious coach Tony Popovic.
The FIFA Club World Cup 2014 contenders Real Madrid CF
Western Sydney Wanderers FC
Moghreb Tétouan
Moroccan champions Moghreb Athletic de Tetouan will represent the host nation at the FIFA Club World Cup 2014. The remaining contenders at the global showdown in December are the six continental champions: ES Setif (CAF Champions League winners), Western Sydney Wanderers T H E F I FA W E E K LY
ES Sétif
Cruz Azul
San Lorenzo de Almagro
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that fans could enjoy free entry to the match. What’s more, the prince announced to his 2.45 million Twitter followers that he would give the club’s players and staff a bonus of 100,000 Saudi riyals (approximately $26,000) should they emerge victorious. As we now know, it was not enough to prevent defeat. Although the atmosphere in the imposing King Fahd International Stadium was good, it threatened to turn sour at any moment. This was in no small part due to the home side’s many wasted goalscoring opportunities and the remarkable shift put in by 39-yearold Wanderers goalkeeper Ante Covic, but also because of several contentious moments in the
Auckland City FC
(AFC Champions League winners), Real Madrid (UEFA Champions League winners), Cruz Azul Futbol Club (CONCACAF Champions League winners), Auckland City FC (OFC Champions League winners) and CA San Lorenzo (CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores winners).
tnt-graphics (Infografik), AP
When it comes to Al Hilal, King Abdullah’s nephew is eager to invest.
In 2005, he spent one billion US dollars acquiring an interest in 15 American companies, including heavyweights such as McDonalds and the Walt Disney Company. The prince’s impressive financial ventures have made him one of the world’s most respected investors. King Abdullah’s nephew is equally eager to invest when it comes to Al Hilal. He loves the club and even offers the team use of his private plane to travel to away matches such as the Champions League final, where the Saudi side lost 1-0 in Sydney despite playing well. This result seems to have distressed Al-Waleed bin Talal, who decided to purchase all 67,000 seats for the return leg at the team’s home ground in Riyadh so
AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
A decisive 1-0 loss Al Hilal fans look on during the first leg.
Australians’ penalty area. Al Hilal appealed for four spot-kicks during the course of the match and, three days after the match ended 0-0, demanded that the Asian Football Confederation launch an official investigation into the refereeing over both legs.
AFC Champions League The Asian Champions League
Brendon Thorne / Getty Images
has existed in its current form
Calderon: “On the right track” In contrast to Sydney's young upstarts, Al Hilal have a long history behind them. The club was founded back in 1957, when the prince was just 18 months old. Their first taste of success came when they won the domestic King’s Cup competition four years later, but this was just the start of a glittering honours list encompassing some 54 titles. ‘The Boss’ established themselves as an Asian football institution, winning the continent’s most prestigious club competition in 1991 and 2000. Despite this illustrious record, the club still longs for an AFC Champions League title, having not lifted this particular trophy since it was introduced in 2003 (see Box), not to mention the fact that 14 years is too long a wait for a club of Al Hilal’s pedigree. Former Real Betis coach Gabriel Calderon is well acquainted with Saudi Arabian football, having previously coached the country's national team and two of its clubs, including Al Hilal. “I had a wonderful time in Saudi Arabia,” the Argentinian said. “It’s amazing how intensely and enthusiastically the competitions are contested there. It’s difficult to say whether they’re strong enough to hold their own with Europe’s elite yet, but Saudi Arabia is on the right track.” When you consider that Calderon is a contemporary of Diego Maradona who featured at the 1982 and 1990 World Cups and played in eight different countries during his career, this is a very encouraging assessment indeed. Å
since 2003, having been preceded by the Asian Champion Club Tournament from 1967 until 1971 and the Asian Club Championship from 1985 until 2002. Australian teams have been eligible to take part in the competition since leaving the Oceania Football Confederation to join its equivalent in Asia. Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal have made more final appearances than any other team, reaching the tournament finale five times and winning twice. The most successful team in AFC Champions League history are Pohang Steelers from South Korea, who have lifted the trophy on each of the three occasions they have reached the final. South Korean teams have won the competition ten times, putting them far ahead of Japan and Saudi Arabia, who have provided champions five and four times respectively. (dek)
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IN BRIEF
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arcello Lippi’s players threw him into the air and chanted his name after he led Guangzhou Evergrande to their latest championship title. The Southern China Tigers have now won four successive league crowns, the past three of which were secured with the 2006 World Cup winning coach at the helm. A 1-1 draw with Shandong Luneng on the final day of the season was all Guangzhou needed to defend their title, and true to the motto “quit while you’re ahead”, Lippi announced his resignation immediately after his latest triumph. Although the former defender explained his decision by saying: “I’ll be 67 years old in the near future, and I do not want to be the head coach anymore,” he is not yet ready to bid the footballing world farewell just yet, opting instead to become the Chinese champions’ technical director. Lippi celebrated arguably his greatest success with Guangzhou Evergrande by guiding them to AFC Champions League glory in 2013. Å Tim Pfeifer
AFP
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nd he can score goals too! It is unlikely that even Shkodran Mustafi himself can fully comprehend what has happened to him over the past few months. Few had heard of the Sampdoria defender when Germany coach Joachim Low handed him a surprise World Cup call-up this summer. Mustafi only made the trip to Brazil after Marco Reus sustained a serious injury in his team’s final warmup match, and even then many struggled to understand why a defender had been picked to replace a striker. Despite suffering a torn thigh muscle in Germany’s Round of 16 match against Algeria, the 22-year-old joined the boisterous celebrations on the Maracana pitch after the Final. Then, in the summer Mustafi signed a lucrative contract with Valencia and has long since recovered from his injury to become a regular starter for the Spanish club. Having scored just one goal in 50 appearances for Sampdoria, he has already found the net three times in six matches for his new side, including a brace in a 3-1 win at Villareal last Sunday. Partly thanks to their new surprise package, Valencia now lie second in Spain’s Primera Division, ahead of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Å Sven Goldmann
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steban Ramirez is a pianist from El Paso, a city deep in the Texan desert. Listen to any one of Ramirez’s tunes and it’s hard not to picture yourself being whisked along remote, sandy streets on the back of a horse. One of his best known albums is titled “Fly With Me”, but if you type the name Esteban Ramirez into an internet search engine - perhaps in the hope of finding an early Christmas present - you are more likely to stumble upon highlights of a football match between Club Sport Herediano and Deportivo Saprissa, last Monday’s top-of-the-table clash in the Costa Rican first division. That’s because this encounter featured a quite breathtaking goal from one of Herediano’s forwards, who also happens to be called Esteban Ramírez. The powerful striker, known for his instinctive finishing abilities, controls the ball on his chest, takes one more touch with his head and rifles a dipping volley into the net from around 20 yards. As spectacular as the goal was, the celebrations that followed were equally euphoric: Fly with me. The two Estebans evidently share more than just a name. Å Alan Schweingruber T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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Croatian Nogometna Liga
Dina mo f ly ing solo Roland Zorn is a Frankfurt-based
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It would therefore be no surprise if this team, who have won 16 titles since Croatia gained independence in 1991, were to expand their trophy collection by adding a tenth successive championship crown.
football correspondent.
Latvian side Skonto’s fourteen consecutive championship wins between 1991 and 2004 is a record many thought could never be broken. Although Dinamo Zagreb are still a few years away from this particular feat, their tally of nine domestic titles between 2006 and 2014 is impressive enough to suggest that Croatia’s serial champions can continue their winning streak. The signs are already pointing to yet another season of dominance for the 12-time Croatian Cup winners. Coach Zoran Mamic’s side are still unbeaten, with Rijeka and Hajduk Split trailing by six and 13 points respectively.
Despite having such an impressive record and 11,000 members, spectator interest in Zagreb’s largest club is limited. An average of just 1,697 fans attend the team’s home games at the Maksimir Stadium, with crowd statistics placing Dinamo just seventh of the ten sides in the Prva HNL (Hrvatska Nogometna Liga). This may have something to do with the fact that even constant success can become tiresome, or with the high level of player turnover at a club whose stars regularly depart for Europe’s biggest leagues. Another key factor could be c ontroversial president Zdravko Mamic, brother of coach Zoran, who has been in charge of Dinamo since 2003.
Big win, small crowd Dinamo Zagreb seal a 5-1 win over Astra Giurgiu in their Europa League opener. 16
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As the team rarely use their forays into the Champions League or Europa League to woo fans to their home ground, the Blues are breaking records in an unexpectedly intimate setting. It really is a pity that so many giants of European football have left the club over the years, from Zvonimir Boban and Davor Suker to current stars such as Luka Modric and Mario Mandzukic. Å
imago / Pixsell
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Rooted to the bottom Reigning Venezuelan champions Zamora and their captain Arles Flores (left).
Ven e z u e l a n Pr i m er a D i v i s i o n
C h a n ge s a fo ot at “ L a F u r i a” Sven Goldmann is a leading football correspondent at Tages spiegel newspaper in Berlin.
Zamora FC
There has been no shortage of drama in the Venezuelan Primera Division this season. Zamora Futbol Club, champions in 2013 and 2014, have sunk like a stone, losing five and drawing six of their first eleven league encounters. Last time out the reigning titleholders laboured to a 0-0 home draw with 16th-placed Deportivo Petare, which kept the hosts rooted to the foot of the division. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what has gone wrong at “La Furia”, as the Barinas club are commonly known. The team that took to the field against Deportivo is a shadow of the side that swept all before them over the
previous two campaigns. Certainly, much has changed since last season’s contentious two-legged final against Mineros de Guayana, the effects of which are still felt to this day in the Zamora camp. Striker Juan Falcon got his name on the scoresheet in the first leg, but there was more than a hint of controversy about the 25-year-old’s goal: Rafael Romo, the Mineros keeper, had picked up an injury during an earlier Zamora attack and, relinquishing possession of the ball, signalled to the bench that he could not continue. Falcon took no notice, however, picking up the loose ball and walking it past the stricken goalkeeper into the unguarded net. Chaos erupted on the pitch and Romo’s opposite number Alexis Angulo even threw a punch at one of the Mineros players in the ensuing melee.
Zamora won the match 4-1 and ended up clinching their second successive title, but were heavily criticised for their conduct during the match. Meanwhile, Angulo was banished to the reserves and eventually released, as was defender Layneker Zafra following a horrendous tackle earlier this term which earned him a straight red card. Falcon, last season’s top scorer with 19 goals, has since joined French side FC Metz, while Pedro Ramirez, Ricardo Clarke and Jonathan Espana have all joined the exodus. To cap it all, Noel Sanvicente has also left his post as head coach to take over the Venezuelan national team. There is a long road ahead for Zamora if they are to return to the summit of the Venezuelan Primera Division anytime soon. Å
A minor drama is unfolding in the Primera Division. T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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THE INTERVIEW
“Winning the World Cup stays with you forever” Rainer Bonhof set up Germany’s winning goal in the 1974 World Cup Final. In this interview, the former midfielder recalls that historic moment, gives his opinion on Germany’s all-conquering side at Brazil 2014 and gives an insight into his role as vice-president at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Rainer Bonhof, how did you follow the World Cup in Brazil?
How does it feel to hold the World Cup Trophy in your hands as a player?
Rainer Bonhof: At home, while having barbecues. I didn’t go over there as it would have been too much for me to travel such a long way. Aside from that we’d started our pre-season preparations at Gladbach and I enjoy being there for that.
It only starts to sink in a couple of weeks later. On the day itself I realised that I had, along with the rest of the team, achieved something great. At the start of the tournament back then we came in for a lot of criticism, just like the team did this year. But we got back on our feet, gritted our teeth and won the World Cup in Germany, which certainly wasn’t easy. You only truly become aware of the joy at having accomplished something extraordinary, and the scale of it all, one, two, three or even four years later because your name is always mentioned in the same breath as that World Cup title. I believe it’ll be a similar process for the current side and it’ll stay with all of the players for the rest of their lives.
Did watching the tournament in Brazil stir up memories of your triumphant campaign in 1974? No, because every World Cup has its own character and there are very different players out on the pitch now, 40 years later. The game as a whole has changed, it’s developed, especially in terms of the speed it’s played at and the systems employed. Media coverage has also got bigger. The memories came up when I was watching the Final, with my Germany shirt on, cheering the team on. I knew it would be a close game, just like it was 40 years ago in Munich against the Netherlands. It’s because you know what a match like that feels like. Things could easily have turned out differently. Manuel Neuer had a great day and we couldn’t have had any complaints if we’d conceded a goal or two, but Mario Gotze made sure it was us who were crowned champions.
Did Gotze’s strike remind you of the decisive goal you set up in the 1974 Final? His goal was actually a mirror image of that one. Andre Schurrle went down the left, Mario controlled the ball superbly and put it in. It was similar to the goal I created. There was a huge gap in the Dutch defence and Jurgen Grabowski played me the ball. I saw a white shirt in the penalty area and I thought: you need to play it to him. Gerd Muller then put it in the net. When I’m with friends having a beer and a sausage they ask me what it felt like. I was actually just really happy that Mario Gotze finally took the title of the youngest ever German World Cup winner from me and that we became world champions. 18
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What does winning the 2014 World Cup mean for German football? I think we were at a completely different level in Germany even before the competition started. In 1974 there was also a lot of euphoria but there weren’t the same opportunities to develop younger players. In my opinion the German Football Association [DFB] has done outstanding work in expanding the number of training centres from the 12 set up by Berti Vogts to almost 400 throughout Germany. In those facilities talented players are trained by expert coaches.
How has football changed over the last few decades? To answer that you need to look at the tactics used in any given era. At the end of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s the first teams started appearing with a four-man backline and using zonal marking. In Ger many, Hamburg made excellent use of that under coach Ernst Happel. Before then man-marking had been always been employed and you had to keep an eye on your man throughout the 90 minutes, even if you went on the attack. Then all of a sudden there were
countless variations, from a 4-4-2 formation to a 4-2-4 or 4-3-3, and they all proved very successful during different periods. At the 2014 World Cup sometimes the midfields played in a diamond formation and at other times with a deep-lying attacking player. Players have to adjust to what the different systems require. That’s a sign that they’re not only technically but also tactically extremely well trained from a very early age.
When you were a player Borussia Monchen gladbach were one of the top teams both in Germany and Europe. Are Gladbach currently on the way back to the top? That’s what we’re working on every day. It was a wonderful time back then and we were always among the top few clubs. In 1995 we won the DFB Cup again but after that there was a real drought, which was partly due to the antiquated stadium we had. The opening of the new Borussia-Park stadium has created more opportunities thanks to greater gate revenues.
In 2011 Gladbach were almost relegated. Going through the relegation play-off in 2011 was an awful experience. After we survived that, a jolt went through the team and the people involved said to themselves: ‘we don’t want to go through that again.’ We’ve become a lot more stable. When you look at the clubs in Germany a few of them are financially better off than us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t compete in footballing terms. Å Rainer Bonhof was speaking to Andres de Kartzow
Name Rainer Bonhof Date and place of birth 29 March 1952, Emmerich Clubs 1970 – 1978 Monchengladbach 1978 – 1980 Valencia 1980 – 1983 Cologne 1983 Hertha Berlin Christian Grund / 13 Photo
Clubs coached 1990 – 1998 Germany (assistant coach) 1998 Germany U-21s 1998 – 1999 Monchengladbach 2002 – 2005 Scotland U-21s Germany national team 53 caps, 9 goals
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First Love Place: Kampala, Uganda Date: 26 October 2012 Time: 4.44 p.m.
Christian Bobst / 13 Photo
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PRE SEN TAT ION
PRESIDENTIAL NOTE
Envy must be earned
Fundamental values Football can promote respect, discipline, morale and teamwork.
Football’s school of life In a presentation to mark the 75th anniversary of the Academic Sports Association Zurich (ASVZ), FIFA President Blatter spoke about the values football can impart.
Andrea Schneider
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port and spirit do not contradict one another,” Sepp Blatter declared during a one-hour presentation at ETH Zurich. The FIFA President described football as a ‘school of life’ and an important factor in social integration before highlighting FIFA’s role in providing development assistance and supporting underprivileged regions. Blatter cited Football for Hope, Football for Health and 11 for Health as examples of football-based programmes that can make a positive contribution to social change on a global level by dealing with the urgent issues within a community. “Football cannot solve all problems, but it can contribute significantly towards finding solutions,” the FIFA President emphasised. Blatter also spoke about FIFA’s strong neighbourly relationship with ASVZ, Switzerland’s largest cantonal sports association with 75,000 members and a sports complex, the Sport Center Fluntern, adjacent to the Home of FIFA. Quoting German poet Wilhelm Busch, Blatter said: “Even the most devout person cannot live in peace if his nasty neighbour won’t allow it.”
Included in the 250-strong audience were ASVZ president Egon Franck as well as Association director Lorenz Ursprung. Blatter fielded questions on a range of topics in the subsequent Q&A session and gave each questioner a detailed response. Indeed, the FIFA President had an answer prepared for everything. At the end of the session, someone asked if he could have the World Cup ball displayed on the lectern, prompting Blatter to stand up and throw the Brazuca over the heads of the amused audience into the hands of the excited enquirer. Å
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he ball is round and the game lasts 90 minutes, as Sepp Herberger famously said. But the ball is rolling more than ever nowadays, and emotions are spiraling faster and faster. However, objectivity is often forgotten, especially when it comes to FIFA (and its President). Occasionally, it seems to me that I am being held to blame for all the ills of the world: the destruction of the rainforests, the rail strike in Germany, frequent volcanic eruptions in Iceland, and – it goes without saying - fluctuations on the world’s stock markets. I must assume I was also responsible for the miserable weather in Switzerland this summer, although one ought to be even-handed about this and at least give me credit for the wonderful autumn. One has to live with criticism in my position. But the principle of fair play should come before everything else. If the boundary is breached and fair play becomes foul, one must be allowed to defend oneself, and that includes against journalists. If you forget that losing is always a possibility in football, you are in the wrong place. Certain people appear to lack this knowledge. In my 40 years with FIFA I have learned to live with hostility and resentment. However, as the German-language proverb puts it, sympathy is free, but envy must be earned. At the end of the day real life closely resembles events on the field of play: you only target the man in possession. And as FIFA President I am by definition the man on the ball.
Best wishes, Sepp Blatter T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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MEXICO
Keep moving The Guerreros Aztecas are amputee footballers in Mexico City. Football helps to keep their heads held high. Tim Smyth (text), Bénédicte Desrus (photos), Mexico City
E
ighteen-year-old Baruch is one of Mexico’s best young footballers. His mother is in charge of keeping his press clippings and here he is in one action shot, holding himself suspended between his two crutches to smash a stinging volley past the goalkeeper.
Two years ago, Baruch’s left leg was amputated to halt the spread of a malignant tumour. “Nothing changed when they took the leg,” Baruch shrugs, flicking on through the plastic envelopes. “I’m better with my right one anyway.” Baruch is the captain of Guerreros Aztecas, a
Ready for training Three players from Mexico City team Guerreros Azteca. 24
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MEXICO
Captain Fantastic Eighteen-year-old Baruch receives hearty congratulations.
Group photo The Guerreros Azteca team pose for a picture with a Mexican wrestler. T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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Star player 25-year-old Rodrigo Fernandez Loya.
olunteer-run team of amputee footv ballers whose ages, backgrounds and professions cover the full sweep of Mexican society. From a government lawyer to a one-armed waiter at one of the city’s best cantinas, from a 25-year-old high-school student to a 42-year-old ex-quarterback, their stories are no less varied. One of their midfielders lost a leg saving a girl from an onrushing train. Their goalie lost his arm in an industrial laundry. Together, their experiences shed light on one of Mexico’s most vulnerable populations: men of working age who are missing a limb. Only 25% are in employment or study.
“I’m trying to use what I’ve learned from football” 23-man squad In a city where accidents and illness force 1,500 male amputees out of work every year, Guerreros Aztecas is as much about winning back dignity and masculine identity as it is about winning games. And they are winning. Founded one year ago by five players, they now have a squad of twenty-three. Seven of them have made the national team’s shortlist to represent Mexico at this December’s Amputee Soccer World Cup in Sinaloa. One of them would have been Baruch. Expelled from school for missing too many classes during his chemotherapy, Guerreros Aztecas has filled a big gap in his life. “It’s my dream to represent the guys, because they’re like family to me, but my breath’s k illing me these days,” he says. While his mother and grandmother have kept him in the dark about the latest metastasis, he’s been Googling his symptoms – the coughing, the spitting, the hot, coin-sized 26
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discus of pain in his back. “I’m trying to use what I’ve learned from football – how to stay cool when things are hard, how to focus on the present, all that stuff.” As Baruch’s team-mates gather to help him face the biggest challenge of his short life, we talk to them about how they use their humour, their camaraderie and above all their football to keep their heads held high. New perspectives We also talked with Rodrigo Fernandez Loya, 25, one of the team’s biggest hopes for the World Cup. Having been involved in a local 'barrio’ gang for a lengthy period, he says that the self-discipline he has developed during his time with Guerreros Aztecas has helped him turn his life around and swap the street-corner for the classroom of his local high school. “After the accident, I spent a year saying ‘I can’t, I can’t’. It seemed like too much to go on. Then I joined the team. They welcomed me, hugged me, made me feel part of it all, and didn’t ask any questions about who I was before. Now I look down and see my missing leg, and I think ‘Whatever, it happened. Keep moving’.” Å
Football for Hope in Sierra Leone
Press-ups aplenty Upper body training is essential.
Six outfield players The seventh team-mate, the goalkeeper, is not allowed to leave the penalty box.
No prosthetics allowed Players prepare for a training session.
Since 2005, FIFA’s Football for Hope initiative has been supporting programmes across the globe that combine football with social development. The Single Leg Amputee Sports Association (SLASA) in Sierra Leone looks after victims of war and is one of 107 programmes supported by Football for Hope in 2014. It organises nationwide football tournaments offering training and advice to amputees while at the same time enlightening the local population and thus improving integration.
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HISTORY
World Cup emblems
1954 I S W I T Z E R L A ND
1958 I S W E DE N
1962 I C HIL E
1966 I E NGL A ND
1970 I ME X IC O
From the Eiffel Tower to a presidential palace and the International Space Station, official World Cup emblems have been unveiled to the public from some unusual locations. The logo provides each tournament with its own unique visual identity. Yvonne Lemmer
1974 I W E S T GE R M A N Y
1978 I A RGE N T IN A
1982 I S PA IN
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n 28 October 2014, cosmonauts on the International Space Station ISS unveiled the emblem for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, creating a spectacle that surpassed the efforts of all previous tournaments. Not all World Cup logo launches have been as impressive since emblems – which used to be known as signets – became part of World Cup history at the 1954 edition in Switzerland. In the build-up to those finals, the Press Committee decided that alongside the official posters that had been used until then, a graphic design should be created to characterise the tournament and appear on all the Local Organising Committee’s correspondence and publications. To that end, the LOC held a design competition and involved Swiss artists in the process. The winning proposal came from Herbert Leupin, a graphic designer from Basel. Licensing impact The main objective behind the creation of the maiden World Cup logo in 1954 was to have a
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visual symbol of the tournament which could be used on printed material. The purpose may not be much different nowadays, although there has been one important change in the intervening years: in 1954 nobody thought to market the emblem on a wider scale. The commercial use of a World Cup logo only began in earnest at England 1966, although the tournament mascot, a lion called World Cup Willie, stole the limelight there. Indeed it was Willie, rather than the emblem, who was visible on much of the competition merchandise. Even in those early days the emblem design was registered as a trademark, a factor that has become increasingly important in recent decades because without trademark protection a logo cannot be licensed. Today FIFA invests large sums of money to protect its event emblems, and World Cup logos are recorded in trademark registers across the globe so that they can be used in merchandising and marketing. That also guarantees FIFA, its partners,
HISTORY
sponsors and licensees exclusive rights to use the emblems, while any infringements by unauthorised parties are not permitted. Such measures are logical, as by the 1974 World Cup in Germany merchandising had taken off on a huge scale for the first time and the emblem, depicting a rolling ball, adorned countless t-shirts, coins, glasses and sports bags worldwide.
1986 I ME X IC O
Over the years, emblems have therefore come to represent the visual identity of each World Cup and are now an indispensible marketing tool. Income from merchandising enables FIFA to invest around $606,000 a day in football development. Å
1990 I I TA LY
1994 I U S A
1998 I F R A NC E
2002 I KOR E A /JA PA N
LOC
Russia 2018 Cosmonauts in space unveil the official World Cup emblem.
Quirinal Palace and the Eiffel Tower Although the launch of the Russia 2018 emblem outdid everything that had gone before it, there have nevertheless been memorable unveiling ceremonies in the past. For instance, the LOC for Italia ‘90 first revealed the tournament logo in Rome on 13 November 1986 at the Quirinal Palace – the presidential residence – in front of the Italian president Francesco Cossiga. Afterwards it was shown to the global media at the Hotel Excelsior on Via Veneto. The presence of numerous prominent figures from the country’s political, economic and religious circles showed the widespread backing the tournament received from the Italian public. France also made use of an iconic landmark to unveil the tournament logo for the 1998 finals. On 20 September 1994 the Local Organising Committee revealed the emblem in a public ceremony at the Eiffel Tower – where else? The design, which shows a ball rising behind the earth like the sun, marked the start of the World Cup in the country.
2006 I GE R M A N Y
2010 I S OU T H A F R IC A
2014 I BR A Z IL
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EVERY GASP EVERY SCREAM EVERY ROAR EVERY DIVE EVERY BALL E V E RY PAS S EVERY CHANCE EVERY STRIKE E V E R Y B E AU T I F U L D E TA I L SHALL BE SEEN SHALL BE HEARD S H A L L B E FE LT
Feel the Beauty
BE MOVED
THE NEW 4K LED TV
“SONY” and “make.believe” are trademarks of Sony Corporation.
FREE KICK
F I F A ’ S 11
Beach soccer: The highest-scoring matches
Ten years of TV
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21 goals Portugal 14-7 Uruguay Beach Soccer World Cup 2009 Dubai
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20 goals Russia 12-8 Brazil Beach Soccer World Cup 2011 Ravenna
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18 goals Brazil 10-8 Nigeria Beach Soccer World Cup 2011 Ravenna
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17 goals Brazil 10-7 Portugal Beach Soccer World Cup 2007 Rio de Janeiro
17 goals Solomon Islands 4-13 Portugal Beach Soccer World Cup 2008 Marseille
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16 goals Solomon Islands 2-14 Portugal Beach Soccer World Cup 2006 Rio de Janeiro
16 goals Brazil 10-6 USA Beach Soccer World Cup 2006 Rio de Janeiro
16 goals Brazil 11-5 Nigeria Beach Soccer World Cup 2009 Dubai
16 goals Switzerland 8-8 Senegal Beach Soccer World Cup 2011 Ravenna
16 goals Paraguay 10-6 Côte d’Ivoire Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 Tahiti
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15 goals Uruguay 10-5 Solomon Islands Beach Soccer World Cup 2006 Rio de Janeiro
Alan Schweingruber
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tatistics suggest that the average central European spends around 30 years of his life consuming media, with television viewing making up one third of that total. The people behind these statistics could be forgiven for suggesting that much more practical use could be made of all those years spent in front of the box. A walk in the woods can refresh mind and body, for example, as can telling a bedtime story, baking a cake, listening to the radio, reading a football magazine, writing a diary, calling a chimney sweep, cutting a hedge or even taking a nap. There are myriad reasons to not think twice about digging that remote control out from under the sofa cushions. But there are always exceptions, not least the 64 football matches played last June and July that lured even the most ardent of workaholics away from their desks. Or news reports about the Canadian goalkeeper who left the country after being at fault for a goal and receiving a red card because he could not bear the humiliation. Replays of the unofficial goal of the month from Costa Rica (see page 15) also make terrific viewing. It is certainly not easy to leave the television switched off whenever football appears on the schedules. It would be very interesting to know how many years people spend waiting, but this figure has not been published. The reason for this is obvious: there is no longer any such thing as actual waiting. We usually deal with other things while hanging around these days, perhaps pawing at a smartphone while standing at a subway station or giving Mum (or the chimney sweep) a quick call. We might buy something from the vending machine or read an e-newspaper on a tablet. Back in the days when
communication was still done via actual cables and wires, we were simply doomed to wait – even at home. This required great discipline for a football coach suddenly sacked in the manner apparently only found in the beautiful game; after all, going for a woodland walk or cutting the hedge is not an option when you have (and want) to remain available for any club bosses who might call. Of course, the very best coaches had a Plan B that was way ahead of its time: make yourself unavailable. As every teenager learns when making their first foray into the world of dating, being unavailable makes you interesting. Today’s great footballing minds have to take a sabbatical or travel to another continent to completely cut loose. When Pep Guardiola was at his most in-demand, he might have based his decision to spend time in the USA on the fact that Europeans spend roughly 1.5 years of their lives on the telephone and the assumption that New Yorkers must surely spend more than a decade watching TV. That said, Americans also have incredibly lengthy baseball games and the world’s most exciting congressional elections to hold their attention. Å
The weekly column by our staff writers
Source: FIFA (FIFA Documentation, Report: Highest Scoring Matches FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, 04.11.2014) T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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MIRROR IMAGE
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Cheadle, Staffordshire, England
Portuguese international Vicente Lucas pushes team-mate Jose Torres around the pitch in a wheelbarrow after a training session.
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Central Press / Hulton Archive / Getty Images
1966
MIRROR IMAGE
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Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Serena Taylor / Newcastle United via Getty Images
2014 Newcastle United’s Jack Colback (left) and Ryan Taylor take part in a ‘wheelbarrow race’ during a training session at St. James’ Park.
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FIFA WORLD R ANKING Rank Team
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 46 48 49 50 51 52 52 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77
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http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/index.html
Change in ranking Points
Germany Argentina Colombia Belgium Netherlands Brazil France Uruguay Portugal Spain
0 0 0 1 -1 0 2 -1 2 -2
1669 1565 1420 1388 1375 1307 1191 1184 1175 1119
Italy Switzerland Chile Croatia Algeria Costa Rica Mexico Greece Ukraine England Romania Czech Republic USA Slovakia Côte d’Ivoire Bosnia and Herzegovina Ecuador Iceland Austria Russia Tunisia Denmark Cape Verde Islands Wales Ghana Slovenia Scotland Egypt Sweden Cameroon Senegal Nigeria Northern Ireland Poland Israel Turkey Serbia Albania Trinidad and Tobago Hungary Iran Japan Togo Peru Guinea Panama South Africa Mali Bulgaria Congo DR Republic of Ireland Congo Finland Montenegro Uzbekistan Korea Republic Gabon Norway Honduras Antigua and Barbuda Burkina Faso Guatemala Libya Jordan Armenia Paraguay Sierra Leone
2 -2 -1 5 5 -1 -1 -4 5 -2 5 6 -6 16 -3 -1 -6 6 10 -7 0 -5 8 -5 -2 17 -8 23 -7 2 -5 -5 28 26 19 -8 -12 -3 37 4 -7 -4 73 -7 -7 -1 10 1 -13 13 1 -14 2 -21 -7 -3 16 8 -13 10 -23 -15 -5 -5 -23 -16 -2
1064 1063 1060 1002 989 974 954 946 920 919 876 870 862 861 842 837 826 816 810 792 780 763 716 715 685 683 674 658 646 637 635 632 625 621 615 614 614 604 598 561 560 559 559 558 552 546 542 533 532 521 519 512 510 504 498 496 487 481 480 478 469 466 440 434 432 423 421
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Ranking 05 / 2014
06 / 2014
07 / 2014
08 / 2014
09 / 2014
10 / 2014
1 -40 -80 -120 -160 -200
78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 88 88 88 92 93 94 95 96 97 97 99 99 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 113 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 126 128 129 130 131 132 132 134 134 136 137 138 138 140 141 142 143 144
Top spot
Biggest climber
Zambia United Arab Emirates Dominican Republic Iraq El Salvador Oman Uganda Venezuela Benin Angola Estonia China PR Morocco Qatar Lithuania Haiti Australia Rwanda Cyprus Mozambique Saudi Arabia FYR Macedonia Latvia Zimbabwe Botswana Bolivia Bahrain St Vincent and the Grenadines Belarus Sudan Palestine Malawi Tanzania Ethiopia Cuba Namibia Jamaica St Kitts and Nevis Kenya Georgia Lesotho Moldova Kuwait Niger Canada Liberia Lebanon Equatorial Guinea Azerbaijan Luxembourg Burundi Philippines Guinea-Bissau New Zealand Kazakhstan Aruba Tajikistan Afghanistan Vietnam Myanmar Turkmenistan St Lucia Mauritania Chad Maldives Madagascar Central African Republic
10 -6 27 9 -10 -7 -5 -19 -8 14 -7 9 -1 8 11 26 -10 -2 -11 12 -15 13 0 -9 -11 -9 0 1 -17 26 -6 -11 5 21 10 0 -13 2 -5 -7 -3 -14 4 -14 -2 3 -3 -11 -31 1 2 5 0 -13 -5 -3 2 1 6 6 3 -15 0 3 3 3 -7
Biggest faller
418 413 405 393 392 391 389 388 375 373 369 369 369 369 364 360 359 356 348 341 341 340 340 330 323 310 308 302 301 298 297 292 291 289 286 284 284 279 273 271 266 262 261 258 251 249 246 238 233 233 232 229 226 225 218 218 214 214 208 207 197 197 195 194 183 180 178
145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 157 159 159 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 168 170 171 172 172 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 180 182 182 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 194 194 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 203 205 205 207 208 208
Grenada Barbados Curaçao Korea DPR Suriname Kyrgyzstan Syria Guyana New Caledonia Laos Liechtenstein Malaysia Indonesia Malta Puerto Rico India Singapore Guam Hong Kong Swaziland Thailand Tahiti Belize Gambia Nicaragua Montserrat Seychelles Bermuda Comoros Sri Lanka São Tomé e Príncipe Bangladesh Turks and Caicos Islands Yemen Nepal Solomon Islands Dominica Pakistan Timor-Leste Macau Cambodia South Sudan Faroe Islands Chinese Taipei Samoa Vanuatu Mauritius Fiji Mongolia Bahamas American Samoa Tonga US Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Papua New Guinea Eritrea Cayman Islands Andorra Somalia British Virgin Islands Djibouti Cook Islands Anguilla Bhutan San Marino
-8 15 1 2 -2 1 1 1 -16 15 17 -2 -1 -2 -2 -1 -12 2 1 -4 -7 -4 -4 -2 2 -2 1 -2 2 2 2 5 3 6 4 2 -13 -7 11 2 14 -1 -8 -10 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 -5 -5 0 2 -3 1 1 -4 0 0 0 0 0
176 172 171 168 167 158 154 148 142 141 136 134 129 129 119 119 115 111 109 103 102 100 99 90 90 86 81 80 80 76 72 68 66 62 61 53 53 51 51 49 46 43 42 39 37 33 32 30 29 26 26 26 20 15 13 11 10 9 8 8 6 6 2 0 0
THE SOUND OF FOOTBALL
Goleador with a golden voice
Hans Krankl’s footballing triumphs tend to overshadow a lively and colourful singing career. Hanspeter Kuenzler
Sion Ap Tomos
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ou would never have imagined Hans Krankl was suffering quite so much: “I’m all on my own today”, he wails with utter conviction, “no-one likes me / I’m reduced to tears / and waiting for you”. Fully in keeping with the pathos in the song the nightingale of Vienna contrives a distant resemblance to Freddy Mercury on the sleeve of “Lonely Boy”, with his neatly-clipped moustache and an expression of painful longing. Krankl’s song, an adaptation of Paul Anka’s 1958 hit and sung in Austrian German, actually climbed to second in the Austrian hit parade in 1986. The element of genius is not in fact the cosy and homely soft rock sound but in the pseudonym chosen by Krankl, Johann K. Could this be a subtle reference to Josef K., the storm-tossed leading character in Franz Kafka’s “The Trial”? Or perhaps even a knowing nod to Scottish New Wave band Josef K, whose canny influence still reverberates today via bands such as Franz Ferdinand? Nor was Krankl a one-hit wonder. His first two singles were released in 1974 when he was playing up front for Rapid Vienna, although he now says they were “a musical cardinal sin”. After that, he sang neither about the “Miracle of Cordoba”, Austria’s victory over Germany at
the 1978 World Cup featuring a Krankl brace, nor indeed a successful stint with Barcelona which earned him the reverent nickname of “Goleador”. It was 1984 before he ventured back to the microphone with “Rostige Flügel” (literally ‘Rusty Wings’) as a guest with Kottans Kapelle, a fictional band from a popular Austrian detective series. Further singles followed, including an adaptation of J.J. Cale’s enduring hit “Cocaine”, retitled as “Aspirin”. There were even LPs, including a “Best Of...” collection. And Krankl is still singing: “If you think Johann K. only guests with Monti Beton, you’d be wrong,” reads a message on the website of Vienna band Monti Beton. The name loosely refers to Monty Python, and the band specialises in Austrianised versions of songs largely drawn from the canon of Anglo-Saxon rock classics. “He is a full member of Monti Beton on vocals and percussion,” the message states. Æ
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Football is a brotherhood. It’s peace.
© 2014 Visa. All rights reserved.
Oscar Arias Nobel Peace Laureate
TURNING POINT
“I spoke to God” Free-scoring Paraguayan forward Salvador Cabanas was poised to play for his country at South Africa 2010 when he was shot in the head and left fighting for his life.
Jorge Adorno / Reuters
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he 25th of January 2010 was the day that changed my life forever. It started with me in a nightclub in Mexico City, where I’d been playing for America in the Mexican first division since 2006. I’d done pretty well there and I’d scored 66 goals in 115 matches for the team up to that point. I was in the toilet at the nightclub when a man holding a gun suddenly came up to me and said: “I’ve been sent to kill, so you’d better make your last wish now. You’re robbing the people of Mexico.” Then he shot me in the head and left me seriously injured. My feeling is that he did it because I was the second-highest paid player in the Mexican league after Cuauhtemoc Blanco. I lost consciousness and was taken to hospital. While I was unconscious I heard the doctors tell my parents to prepare for my funeral. It was then that I spoke to God, who told me that my time had not come yet and that I still had a task to perform on Earth. My only wish after I woke up was to get back to playing professional football and I started rehabilitation as soon as I could. I did some running, but I spent more time in the pool than anywhere else, trying to build up my strength and regain fitness. I also did some training with the ball. In February 2011 I had my first training session with a professional team, Paraguayan first division side Club Libertad. The following year I was given a contract by third division team 12 de Octubre, the club where I started my professional career, but I found it hard to play to my previous standard. I only played one league game for them, and
Name Salvador Cabanas Date and place of birth 5 August 1980, Itaugua Position played Striker Clubs played for 1998 – 2001 12 de Octubre 1999 Guarani (on loan) 2001 – 2003 Audax Italiano 2003 – 2006 Chiapas FC 2006 – 2010 America Paraguay national team 44 caps, ten goals
I told the directors I would understand if they felt I couldn’t make it as a professional player. That’s what happened, and I realised it for myself after brief spells with General Caballero in the Paraguayan second division and fourth-tier Brazilian side Tanabi. I retired from the professional game at the end of May 2014. I have seriously impaired vision in my left eye because the bullet is still lodged behind my left ear. The doctors couldn’t take it out because the operation would have been very risky. Luckily the shooting hasn’t seriously affected my health in any other way, though it prevented me from playing for Paraguay at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. My six goals in the qualifiers played a big part in the national team reaching the world finals, and missing out on an opportunity
like that really hurt. I don’t feel any hate for the man who shot me, though. I have for given him. I’ve never seen him and I’ve never spoken to him. Since retiring I’ve been helping my parents at their bakery in the city of Itaugua in Paraguay. I’m not working right now and I’m living with my parents. My plan is to carry on working at my football academy in Asuncion. Å As told to Peter Eggenberger
In Turning Point, personalities reflect on a decisive moment in their lives. T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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The FIFA Weekly Published weekly by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Internet: www.fifa.com/theweekly Publisher: FIFA, FIFA-Strasse 20, PO box, CH-8044 Zurich Tel. +41-(0)43-222 7777 Fax +41-(0)43-222 7878
FIFA QUIZ CUP
The most remote World Cup event of all time and a legendary goal – test your knowledge! 1
Rooney and Ronaldo played here in 2014, but which of these stadiums has a capacity that is the same regardless of whether you read the number backwards or forwards? (Example: a stadium that holds 123,321 spectators)
President: Joseph S. Blatter Secretary General: Jérôme Valcke Director of Communications and Public Affairs: Walter De Gregorio
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Chief Editor: Perikles Monioudis Staff Writers: Alan Schweingruber, Sarah Steiner, Tim Pfeifer
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Picture Editor: Peggy Knotz Production: Hans-Peter Frei
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Proof Reader: Nena Morf, Kristina Rotach
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This team recently hosted a World Cup event. How far away was the nearest inhabited place?
Art Direction: Catharina Clajus
Layout: Richie Krönert (Lead), Tobias Benz, Marianne Bolliger-Crittin, Susanne Egli, Alissa Rosskopf
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less than 3 km 3 – 30 km 30 – 300 km more than 300 km
Which of these teams only played two international matches together – the semi-final and Final of a World Cup?
Contributors: Sérgio Xavier Filho, Luigi Garlando, Sven Goldmann, Hanspeter Kuenzler, Jordi Punti, Thomas Renggli, David Winner, Roland Zorn A
Contributors to this Issue: Peter Eggenberger, Andrés de Kartzow, Yvonne Lemmer, Tim Smyth, Andreas Wilhelm Editorial Assistant: Honey Thaljieh Project Management: Bernd Fisa, Christian Schaub
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The football world knows this man's name thanks to one very special goal, but where did he place his shot? E B
Translation: Sportstranslations Limited www.sportstranslations.com
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The answer to last week’s Quiz Cup was HULK Detailed answers on www.fifa.com/theweekly Inspiration and implementation: cus
Send your answer by 12 November 2014 to feedback-theweekly@fifa.org. Correct solutions to all quizzes published from 13 June 2014 onwards will go into a draw in January 2015 for a trip for two to the FIFA Ballon d’Or on 12 January 2015. Before sending in answers, all participants must read and accept the competition terms and conditions and the rules, which can be found at: http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/af-magazine/fifaweekly/02/20/51/99/en_rules_20140613_english_neutral.pdf T H E F I FA W E E K LY
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L A S T W E E K’S P O L L R E S U LT S
T HIS WEEK’S POLL
Which of the last six editions was the best FIFA World Cup?
49+15+131175 7%
Which of the following quarter-finalists are your favourites to win the 2014 – 2015 CONCACAF Champions League?
5%
11%
49%
13%
15%
≠ ≠ ≠
Brazil 2014
Germany 2006
South Africa 2010
≠ ≠ ≠
France 1998
Korea / Japan 2002 USA 1994
Choose from the following: · Alajuelense (CRC) · America (MEX) · D.C. United (USA) · Herediano (CRC) · Montreal Impact (CAN) · Olimpia (HON) · Pachuca (MEX) · Saprissa (CRC) Cast your votes at: Fifa.com/newscentre
“I had the luck of seeing him from another perspective. He is very polite, relaxed, gentle. He is not only interested in the footballer, but in the person and his family.” Dutch defender Paul Verhaegh on former national team coach Louis van Gaal
ing; the first
56
time since 1970
goal and 45 home games unbeat-
international goals was the tally
that such a run
en against Celta Vigo were the
that established Lotta Schelin as
has been strung
sequences that came to a shock
the record scorer for Sweden’s
together. Manchester
end for Barcelona. Having not
women’s national team. Hanna
City’s latest victory
won at the Camp Nou in 73
Ljungberg had held the national
established them as
years, Celta emerged with a
record since 2008, but was
just the second team,
hard-earned 1-0 scoreline and
eclipsed when her former
after Liverpool, to inflict
became the first visiting La
team-mate scored the
four straight defeats on
Liga team to register a shutout
opener in a 2-1 defeat to
Manchester United in
against the Catalans since
Germany.
the Premier League era.
Sevilla in 2011.
4
successive Manchester derbies have now ended with the blue half of the city celebrat-
successive home league matches in which they scored at least one Orlando Sierra / AFP, Getty Images (2), imago
73
WEEK IN NUMBERS